Ben Marchant
Director, Colin Lee Opticians
Innovative lens technology has been shown to control the progression of myopia in children. It’s an exciting development, says Ben Marchant, Director, Colin Lee Opticians.
Are you seeing more children with myopia?
Ben Marchant: Unfortunately, yes. Historically, myopia onset occurs in teenage years. However, over the last decade, we’ve seen a rise in younger children. One study noted that the reasons for this include spending less time outside in natural light and more time indoors on near-work activities with technology. The younger you are when you develop myopia, the more quickly it can progress and to a higher level. It’s associated with a greater risk of developing more serious eye conditions in later life.
You now offer children corrective spectacles that control myopia progression. How does this work?
One reason for shortsightedness is that the eye becomes too long, essentially. We’ve been dispensing Essilor® Stellest® lenses since their launch in 2021, which not only correct but also work by slowing the eye’s elongation and therefore slowing down myopia progression.
A clinical trial showed that the lens slows down myopia progression by 67% on average when worn for the recommended 12 hours a day. How encouraging is this?
Very. We’re seeing these lenses massively reduce eye growth — and therefore the progression of the child’s shortsightedness. For us, we feel the sooner they’re prescribed, the better the outcome.
Now, we can prescribe treatment that is
actively going to benefit children in later life.
How do you assess if a child is suitable for these lenses?
If we find that a child is myopic, we’ll discuss options with parents, including these lenses — although they aren’t available on the NHS. If we discover myopia has advanced during a follow-up appointment, we can work out how we expect it to progress.
How do you do that?
By using a biometer, which measures axial length (the distance from the front of the cornea to the back of the eye). Our practice has biometer technology called Myopia Expert; we use it to plot the growth of the eye on a centile chart, in the same way you might plot a child’s height and weight. We use it for children who are having active treatment and to plot the risk of those not yet treated, to determine if and how treatment would help.
What happens once the lenses have been prescribed?
Children who have spectacles fitted with Essilor® Stellest® lenses will have appointments every three months to check the fit of their glasses, which is crucial for treatment effectiveness. We’ll also check their level of vision and remeasure their axial length.
Why is offering children’s myopia management important to you?
Normally, as high street opticians, whenever you prescribe spectacles, you’re not treating shortsightedness. You’re correcting it. Now, we can prescribe treatment that is actively going to benefit children in later life.
